Have Mercy on Me, a Sinner!

A dear friend and I were discussing Rob Bell's book, Love Wins, and his question to me was, "If God was not a God of judgment, a God who would judge sin, would he be worthy of worship?" I did not respond because, well, God is the judge. He defines right and wrong. Black and white. Darkness and light. As I have pondered this over the last week, some other thoughts have come to me. All gods judge. That is what makes people fear them and worship them. When they are angry we assume we have done something to displease them, something "wrong," and try to find a sacrifice suitable to appease them. What truly sets our God apart is not that he is a judge, or that we spell his name with a capital "G;" but, that he is a God who forgives. Not only does he forgive, but he offered up the sacrifice for forgiveness himself. Is that not the foundation of our hope? We don't hope in the fact that God is the righteous judge, because if we all got what we deserved, we are all doomed. Our hope is in the faith that God, no matter how unfaithful we are, will have mercy on us and forgive us and accept us as we are. At least, that is my hope! "Have mercy on me, a sinner."